I have been ordering screen printed t-shirts for about one year now. I have dealt with three different printers and have met with mixed results.
The logo has four colors in it . The first order had 25 of 110 with problems with the logo being off centre . They were redone.
The second printer did up a larger order for me and the logo was off as in the colors being not consistent in size on the logo and as was another smaller order with a different logo.
I moved to a third printer and received the order and had 30 of 300 with a problem of the colors not being consistent as in blank areas where there should be a certain color.
The consistent answer I have received is you can't get a full order that will be all right. Also they send them knowing there are problems with them. Is this what I can expect with most printers ? The last two are in business , 14 and 25 years !
What is the usual arrangement when the t's are not consistent and not saleable compared to the rest of your t-shirts.
Really frustating as I try to deal with people in a straighforward and honest manner.
If the logo was spot color, there's really no reason for spots of color to be missing. As far as off center prints, how bad were they? Shirts often have necks that are not centered between the sleeves due to loose manufacturing tolerances. It's also possible that the logo design is such that, even though it's mechanically centered, it may appear visually off-center. Sometimes it's a matter of opinion as to whether the placement is bad or not. When you go to renew an order, either with an existing printer or a new one, I'd discuss your concerns, and show them samples of shirts you felt were poorly done, and try to come to an understanding up front.
Better yet, post some pics of the problem shirts. For all we know, 'off center' could mean a centimeter to one side or another. It's all perception.
And remember, these are t-shirts. Like tpitman pointed out, they're not all perfect. As printers, sometimes there isn't a lot we can do with these problematic shirts that seem to show up quite often.
I'd really like to see some pics though. It's hard to believe that 3 out of 3 printers are doing sub par work.
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I have been ordering screen printed t-shirts for about one year now. I have dealt with three different printers and have met with mixed results.
The logo has four colors in it . The first order had 25 of 110 with problems with the logo being off centre . They were redone.
The second printer did up a larger order for me and the logo was off as in the colors being not consistent in size on the logo and as was another smaller order with a different logo.
I moved to a third printer and received the order and had 30 of 300 with a problem of the colors not being consistent as in blank areas where there should be a certain color.
The consistent answer I have received is you can't get a full order that will be all right. Also they send them knowing there are problems with them. Is this what I can expect with most printers ? The last two are in business , 14 and 25 years !
What is the usual arrangement when the t's are not consistent and not saleable compared to the rest of your t-shirts.
Really frustating as I try to deal with people in a straighforward and honest manner.
Yeah, it really depends on what "off center" means to you. A lot of times like mentioned before, the blanks themselves have manufacturing defects that make the print seem off center. Either way, if they knew these problems and still sent them to you, that's plain bad business practices. The standard seems to be 2% defects will come out of screen print orders. Our's is about 1% for the most part and no more than 2%, however our print shop refunds our mistakes with the cost of the blank or we cover the costs by reprinting them with no extra charge if the blanks were bought by us. We have printed for forum members, and they are very happy with the quality and service. A lot of larger companies that have been around for 10+ years (not saying all), get too comfortable and don't care much to lose a customer. To answer your final question, no that is not what you should expect from a printer.
I just had a local printer print some shirts for me. they look pretty bad in my opinion. what can i accept as ok if they are off center? i know that not all can be perfect, but what off-center amount is ok? some are .5" off, and a few are even 1" off....
One thing to consider on this subject is the consistency of the shirts themselves. As a printer I've handled thousands and thousands of shirts and have never once gone thru a case of shirts to find that they are all sewn together perfectly. In fact I would say that the majority of the shirts made are not perfectly symmetrical as far as neck and sleeve location. I haven't seen the prints in question so I can't say definitively but I would guess that part of the "off center" problem is a combination of shirt and print placement quality. I've seen a lot of inconsistencies in cheaper shirts so part of the problem could be your choice of garment. Although every brand has it's pros and cons and no t-shirt is perfect. I will say tho that some of my favorite shirts that i've worn for years and will continue to wear have slighly off center prints. For me good design trumps perfect placement.
10% fall out is unacceptable. If your printer gives you 10% fall out every time, find a new printer.
Shirts without ink where there should be ink - also unacceptable. A good printer will catch this before the shirt leaves the press (or 2 dozen shirts, as the case may be) where it can still be fixed.
I've been screen printing for 15+ years both sign and shirt and I rarely give my customers back more than a 2-3% fall out. If I make a mistake and go over that I strike a deal or replace the damaged shirts. period. Because of this policy I pay more attention to details and make fewer mistakes and my customers are loyal and happy to pay because of it.
I had 4" tall x 8" wide logo screen printed, some are off center about an inch. is there an industry standard on what range is acceptable? like if a logo is within an inch of being off center in any direction? i know it is different for all prints, but want to know what is reasonable since some room for this type of thing needs to be known.
I just had a local printer print some shirts for me. they look pretty bad in my opinion. what can i accept as ok if they are off center? i know that not all can be perfect, but what off-center amount is ok? some are .5" off, and a few are even 1" off....
0.5 to 1.0" is nothing out of the norm. Remember, each shirt isn't created equal, none of them are...
Plus, these shirts are loaded by humans, humans aren't perfect either.
The same printers who print Ed Hardy or Marc Ecko, print for normal John Doe as well. It's just the reality.
I had a lady order 100 shirts with glitter print etc, it was a very fancy print. She got them and went home, a day later she called back asking why all her shirts were crooked and slanted by 1" on one side. She complained and yelled and wanted me to drive an hour to where she was to pick up the shirts and reprint them in one day. I said, hell no, we have samples at our shop and everything measures fine. I literally took a ruler and measured the graphic to the neck line and things were great, maybe 0.25" off. A hour later she calls back saying her husband was calling her crazy (he used to work at a screen print shop himself) and said she was being unreasonably picky. I'm so glad he KNEW the realities of screen printing.
Anyhow, the funniest part was, she called again to apoligize that they were in fact all printed CORRECTLY. She then commented on how great the shirts were. She had her husband wear them and they were all centered and straight. Her husband had to remind her that she had shoulder surgery a couple years back so her shoulders weren't even. I also realized her last name and she had mentioned she was related to a famous person (I didn't believe her, but when I researched her name, her photo came up on a family blog). I had the biggest laugh that day.
Sorry, thought the story was somewhat related to the topic.
screen printing problems 
